Pepa Heller Tattoo Artist

Papa Heller is not a new comer to tattoos but he is not very well known in the United States. He hails from the Czech Republic but has been a tattoo artist practicing his trade in New Zealand for over ten years now. He’s also lived in the UK and has traveled to Australia and the Middle East. There was an extensive and thorough interview with him in my latest issue of International Tattoo Art.

He studied under an American who owned a shop in Prague. He says he’s been shooting for more realism and says he’s relying more on references to help with achieving this. He’s also been trying to incorporate more color into his work. He has a way of using his backgrounds – whether it’s a drop shadow or a blue sky to cause his artwork to jump off the skin. I really like the way the tail end of this shark looks like it’s coming around the corner of the guy’s torso. You can see much more of his work by visiting his Myspace page.